1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to apparatus for the grinding or disintegration of tree stumps. More specifically, the present invention relates to cutting wheels for use with such stump-grinding apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Stump-grinding apparatus of varying configuration has been used for a number of years to grind and disintegrate unsightly stumps that remain after a tree is felled. Such conventional stump-grinding apparatus usually is provided with a power end, which supplies power to a cutting end, which actually disintegrates the stump. Prior-art stump-grinding apparatus may be of a hand-held variety or of a walk-behind or stand-up variety.
Whether of the hand-held or walk-behind variety, conventional stump-grinding apparatus usually is provided with a cutting end comprising a shaft for rotation by the power end, and a cutting wheel having some form of cutting teeth, the cutting wheel secured to the shaft for rotation and disintegration of the stump. One prior-art hand-held stump-grinding apparatus, sold under the trade name "Grip 1000," has a cutting wheel having a plurality of fingers that extend radially from the center of the wheel and are provided at terminal ends thereof with carbide or hardmetal tips. Such a cutting wheel cuts in only one direction of rotation and cuts a relatively narrow kerf in the stump, wherein disintegration of the stump becomes time-consuming and expensive because only a relatively small volume of stump material is removed per revolution of the wheel.
Another prior-art stump grinding apparatus, sold by Levco, of Wynne, Arkansas, has a cutting wheel comprising a disk element secured to a tapered shaft by engagement with a correspondingly tapered hole in the disk element that is maintained by a flange secured to the wheel. A plurality of cutting tooth bosses are secured to the outer diameter of the disk element, and a cutting tooth having a pair of oppossed cutting edges is secured to each cutting tooth boss by a pair of bolts. Each cutting tooth may be removed from the cutting tooth boss and reversed, wherein the opposed cutting edges are transposed. Also, the cutting teeth are offset from each other, which permits the wheel to cut a wider kerf in the stump, increasing the material removal rate and decreasing the cutting time required to disintegrate a stump. However, because of the configuration of the cutting teeth, a trailing edge of each tooth strikes the stump immediately after the leading edge cuts the stump, leading to a rough and uneven cutting action.
A need exists, therefore, for an improved cutting wheel for stump-grinding apparatus that cuts a wide kerf in the stump and that provides the ability to expose a second set of cutting edges merely by removing the cutting wheel from the shaft and reversing it relative to the shaft.